


study in touch

by rosegardeninwinter



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 16:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18641530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegardeninwinter/pseuds/rosegardeninwinter
Summary: ["blindsided" au; might add more canon divergent scenes, might not]





	study in touch

Hiccup says Astrid’s going to get her sight back. He’s so sure of it. But she doesn’t. 

She clings to hope though. Clings to hope for so long that the dawning realization that she’ll never again be the woman she once was isn’t quite as devastating as it might’ve been. She is nothing if not tough. She shoulders on.

It’s hard, learning everything over again, but she does it. She learns to swing an axe again. Learns to ride Stormfly again. She can’t venture far, but it’s something. 

She learns to embrace her other senses. Learns to pinpoint the twins by their laughter, Fishlegs by his nervous footsteps, Snotlout by the clank of his armor, Toothless by his coos. She learns to get a feel for places by their scent and taste: the briny odor of the shipyard, the smoke and leather of the forge, the cozy aroma of home. 

Hiccup is a study in touch. She already made something of a study of him when she could see. She’d always loved the look of his clever fingers and his freckled nose and his cheeky mouth, but now she learns to love the feel of that mouth against her temple, that nose brushing against hers, those fingers ghosting over her throat as he places his betrothal gift around her neck. She’s okay. She is. 

But she longs for a glimpse of the sky. She can hide her misery from most people, but not from him. He catches her staring out at the ocean, blind eyes straining for a horizon she’ll never chase again. 

His arms go around her and she holds onto him, tries for a smile as she says, “Do you remember that night you kidnapped me?” 

He gives a chuckle. “Is that what we’re calling it? But yes, I remember. Vividly.” 

“That’s just it,” she whispers. “Vivid. When we flew … the sky was so bright. And so … far. Like we could race over the sea forever. And I think about that night and I — ” Her voice quivers. “Hiccup, I can’t remember the colors anymore. I can’t picture them right.” She inhales sharply but it’s no good. The tears are coming anyway. 

“I’m here,” he tells her, and his arms tighten, and then he stops talking and lets her cry and she loves him for that because honestly there isn’t anything else to say.

**Author's Note:**

> if you've got any ideas for reimagining a canon scene with the parameters of this au, let me know


End file.
